Big Brother and Our Civil Liberties

Should you be concerned that U.S. law enforcement has undergone a dangerous militarization in recent years? NPR reports here that according to the ACLU, using federal funds “state and local law enforcement agencies have amassed military arsenals purportedly to wage the failed War on Drugs.” As both the ACLU and Cato Institute reported, the use of SWAT teams, in a number of cases, led to unnecessary deaths and injuries.

But on a much brighter note, Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute gives “kudos” to the Supreme Court for delivering yesterday “a loud and unified ‘bright-line rule’ that sets a major standard for the digital age” for police-citizen interaction. In an unanimous and broad ruling, police, if they have independent probable cause, must get a warrant to access someone’s digital information. This is a big deal, as Ilya notes, because people now carry essentially all their private documents with them at all times. It “stops police from searching peoples’ entire lives willy-nilly.”

Debbie Young

Debbie, editor-in-chief of Richardcyoung.com, has been associate editor of Dick Young’s investment strategy reports for over three decades. When not in Key West, Debbie spends her free time researching and writing in and about Paris and Burgundy, France, cooking on her AGA Cooker, and practicing yoga.